US2794321A - Fuel pressure regulator - Google Patents

Description

June 4, 1957 F. J. WARNER ETA]. 2,794,321

FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR Filed Aug. 5, 1954 1 N V EN TJRS FRED J. WARNER ATTORNEY United States Fatent 2,794,321 FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR Fred. 1. Warner, Oklahoma City, and William H. Easton and Bert S. Davenport, Stillwater, Okla.

Application August 5, 1954, SerialNo. 448,069 4 Claims. (Cl. 62-1) This invention relates to improvements in pressure regulators and more particularly, but not: by way of limitation, to an apparatus for reducing and regulating the pressure of, liquefied petroleum :g-ases, such as propane, butane and the like, utilized as a fuel mediafor internal combustion engines.

In the use of liquefiedpetroluem gases, such as propane, butane and like volatile fluids as a fuelmedia for internal combustion engines, the high pressure liquefied gas must be reduced in pressure and vaporized before it is discharged for use into the engine manifold. The premnt invention is generally concerned with a high pressure regulator and vaporizer combined in one unit. which reduces the fuel pressure. from the supply tank pressure to an intermediate pressure and converts the intermediate pressure fuel into vapor form into suchvolumes as may he demanded by a carburetor apparatus.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a high pressure vapor fuel regulator for the. complete vaporization of liquefied petroleum gases and delivery of the vaporized pressure for use with a retor apparatus.

And still another object of this invention is to provide a high pressure regulator and vaporizer adapted to reduce the pressure and vaporize the liquid for insuringa constant supply of the volatile fuel at a reduced pressure for discharge into an engine manifold.

And still another object of this invention is to provide a high pressure regulator for reducing the pressure of liquefied. petroleum gases in which all operating valves of the regulator are constructed to open against all incoming fuel pressure in order to provide a safety feature against spring breakage so that the valves will immediately close to-prevent fiow of fuel into the regulator.

And still another object of this. invention is toprovide ahigh pressure regulator and vaporizer for reducing the pressure of liquefied petroleum gases for use with internal combustion engines which provides a plurality of spiral passagesways affording an elongated travel for the fuel in order to obtain a complete vaporization at low operating temperatures.

And still another object of this invention is to provide a fuelregulator and vaporizer having independent fuel and heat exchange spiral passageways with no direct connection therebetween, and which are constructed to substantially eliminate all leakage problems within the regulator.

And still another object of this invention isto provide a gaseous fuel regulator and vaporizer having independent heat exchange and fuel passageways disposed spirally therein in a manner to provide either parallel or counter flow of the fluids flowing therein as desired.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following detailed description, read in c'onfrmction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention.

low pressure regulator of a carbugas at a relatively constant temperature and l In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevational. view of the improved high pressure regulator and vaporizer.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the regulatora portion of the cover plate removed as shown along lines 2-2 for the purpose of clarity.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the high pressure regulator is preferably (but not limited thereto) adapted to be utilized with acarburetor apparatus of an internal combustion engine (not shown). The regulator 2- com-. prises a manifold unit 4 of substantially circular configuration and the manifold is provided with a plurality of spirally arranged passageways 6 and. 8. The central portion of the manifold 4 is provided with a. central bore 10 (Fig. 1) having a portion 12 of larger diameter communicating with a smaller diametered portion 14. A boss member 16 extends into the bore 10 and is provided. with a recessed portion 18 for a purpose as will be hereinafter: setv forth. A cover plate 20 is secured by any suitable means (not shown) to the front face 22 of the manifold 4, such as a threaded stud (not shown) disposed in the circumferentially spaced recesses 25. In similar manner, a rear cover plate 24 is secured by any suitable means (not shown) to the rear face 26 of the manifold 4. As shown in Fig. 1, the cover plate 20 is provided with a centrally disposed boss 28 having a threaded aperture 30 adapted to receive an adjusting nut 32 for a purpose as will be hereinafter set forth.

The recess 18 is provided with a threaded portion 34 for receiving the threaded shank 36 of a manifold member 38. The member 38 is provided with a central bore or passageway 40 communicating with diametrically opposed passageways 42. An apertured valve stem holder 44 is disposed in a portion of the central bore 44)- and receives a valve stem 46 having -a high pressure regulator or reducing valve 48 carried at one end thereof. A. helical spring 50 is anchored between the lower face of the valve 48 and the bottom of the recess 18.

A diaphragm 52 is anchored between the front face 22 and the cover plate 20 in any suitable manner (not. shown). The diaphragm carries a diaphragm button .54 cooperating with a dampener unit 56 disposed in a recess 58- of the adjusting nut 32. A helical spring 60 is anchored against one face of the button 54 and the bottom of the nut recess 58 for a purpose as will be hereinafter set forth.

The cover plate 20 is provided with a plurality (atlieast two as shown) of threaded apertures 62 and 64 communicating with the spiral passageways 8, and the ports. 62 and 64 are utilized as inlet ports for the introduction of any suitable engine coolant or the like (not shown): into the. high pressure regulator. It will be apparent that a coolant liquid may be introduced in either of the: aper tures 62 and 64 with one acting as an inlet port and the. other as a discharge port and cooperating with suitableconnecting conduits (not shown). The high pressure fuel from a suitable storage tank (not shown) is dis.- charged into the high pressure regulator through an inlet nipple 65 communicating with the recess chamber 18: through any suitable passageway (not shown) for dis.- charge across the valve 48 when in open position from its seat 66' as shown in Fig. 1.

Operation The high pressure. liquid fuel discharging into the cham.

charging the vaporized fuel at the reducedpressure for use with the carburetor apparatus of an internal combustion engine (not shown).

The spiral passageways 6 for the vaporized fuel are machined or cast spirally into the back side 26 ofthe manifold 4 and provide an elongated travel of the gaseous fuel after a reduction of the pressure by the valve 48. The state of the fuel passing through the regulator is usually that of Wet vapor at a reduced pressure and temperature, and the elongated travel of the fuel in the passageway 6 will afford a sufiicient wetted surface permitting vaporization of the fuel even at low operating temperatures. 'In a similar manner, the spiral passageways 8 are separately machined or cast into the front face of the manifold 4, and as noted,'the passageways 8 are interposed between the passageways 6 and are in communication with the threaded inlets 62 and 64 for receiving a coolant liquid from any suitable source. 7

It will be apparent the coolant passageways 8 are arranged so that either parallel or counter flow may be obtained by' selective use of one of the inlet apertures 62 and 64 as desired. In using engine coolant as a heating medium in the passageways 8, it will be apparent that when the coolant and the fuel flow are parallel, or in the same direction, the hottest engine coolant would be in contact with the coldest fuel and will not provide as large temperature differential between hot engine coolant and cold vaporized fuel as could be obtained by providing flow of the coolant and fuel in opposite directions, or a counter flow through their respective passageways. It has been found that the vaporizer capacity may be varied as much as fifteen to twenty percent by changing direction of coolant flow through the vaporizer.

' The spiral passageways 6 are sealed by the back cover plate 24 and in similar manner, spiral passageways 8 are sealed by the front cover 20. The sealing of both plates may be accomplished by any suitable means providing a leak proof arrangement. The coolant passageways 8 are interposed or located between the fuel passageways 6 so as to offer a minimum resistance to heat flow between the fuel and the large heat transfer surface provided by the elongated travel prevents an accumulation of any large quantity of liquid fuel in passageways 6 which upon vaporization could cause a rise in the pressure if there was a sudden stoppage of fuel flow. Furthermore, the arrangement of the independent spiral passageways is such that there is no direct passage from the fuel to the coolant liquid, thereby overcoming many sealing problems usually present in regulators of this type.

Alluding further to the valve 48, it will be noted that the valve stem 46 is not connected to the valve diaphragm 52 and utilizes the return spring 50 to assist in closing the valve when the difference of pressure thereacross permits such closing. The inlet fuel discharging into the high pressure regulator and past the valve at high velocity is prevented from pinging upon the diaphragm 52 by a deflector plate 72 carried by one end of the manifold 38. To moderate any chattering characteristics that may be present in the valve 48, the valve dampener 56 is utilized and operates on the principal of an inertia dampener. The value of the regulated pressure may be predetermined by adjustment of the nut 32 co-operating with the spring 60 From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present invention provides a high pressure regulator for liquefied petroleum gases, such as butane, propane and the like, that will reduce the pressure of such gases for vaporization that may be used as a motor fuel with an internal combustion engine or the like. In the present invention, the pressure regulator reduces the fuel pressure and passage through a unitary manifold having a plurality of elongated spiral passageways providing a more efficient and complete vaporization of the fuel discharging therethrough. Furthermore, the manifold provides independent passageways for both the fuel and any heat exchange liquid cooperating therewith, wherein both individual spiral passageways are constructed so as to face opposite sides of the manifold and thereby substantially eliminate any leakage problem of fuel into the coolant. The passageways are constructed in a manner to aiford selective parallel or countercurrent flow of the heat exchange fluid relative to the fuel discharging therethrough as is desired.

Changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of parts as heretofore set forth in the specification and shown in the drawings, it being understood that any modification in the precise embodiment of the invention may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a pressure regulator and vaporizer for high pressure gaseous fuels comprising a substantially circular unitary manifold structure, said pressure regulator having a pressure controlling flow valve, means supplying high pressure fluid to one side of the valve, a valve opera-ting diaphragm operable at a predetermined pressure to maintain the valve in open position for discharge of high pressure fluid through the valve for reduction of pressure thereof, spiral passageways communicating with one side of the valve for receiving the fluid at the reduced pressure and discharging it through the regulator in an elongated path, outlet means for the fluid from the regulator, a second set of spiral passageways interposed between the first set of spiral passageways in the regulator whereby the individual passageways of said second set are interposed between the passageways of said first spiral passageway, said second set of spiral passageways adapted to receive an enginecoolant providing heat exchange for the fluid discharging in the first set of spiral passageways.

2. In a pressure regulator and vaporizer for high pressure gaseous fuels comprising :a substantially circular manifold structure, a central bore provided in the manifold, a pressure control valve disposed in the bore, means for discharging inlet fuel past the control valve for reducing the pressure thereof, a plurality of spiral passageways communicating with the reduced pressure fuel and discharging the fuel through the regulator in an elongated path, said passageways having open ends therefor provided on one face of the manifold, a cover plate for the manifold sealing the open ends of the passageways, a second set of spiral passageways provided in the manifold and interposed between the first set of spiral passageways, said second set of spiral passageways having open ends provided on an opposite face of the manifold from that of the first mentioned face, said second set of passageways adapted to receive a liquid providing heat exchange in an elongated path complementary to the first set of spiral passageways, and means for inlet and discharge of the heat exchange liquid providing selective parallel or counter flow of the heat exchange liquid relative to the fuel.

3. In a pressure regulator and vaporizer for high pressure gaseous fuels comprising a substantially circular manifold structure, fuel inlet means, a pressure control valve disposed in the manifold for reducing the inlet fuel pressure, a plurality of spiral passageways communicating with the reduced pressure fuel and directing the fuel through the regulator in an elongated path, said passageways having open ends therefor provided on one face of the manifold, a cover plate for the manifold sealing the open ends of the passageways, a second set of spiral passageways provided in the manifold independent from the first set of spiral passageways, said second set of spiral passageways having open ends provided on a face of the manifold opposite from that of the first mentioned face, a cover plate sealing the open ends of the second set of passageways, said second set of passageways adapted to receive a liquid providing heat exchange for the fuel and directing the liquidin an elongated path complementary to'the first set of spiral passageways for the fuel.

4. In a pressure regulator and vaporizer for high pressure gaseous fuels comprising a substantially circular unitary manifold structure, .a pressure reduction valve disposed therein for reducing the pressure of the fuel passing therethrough, a plurality of spiral passageways provided in the manifold and arranged in radial spaced relationship with each other, one set of said passageways formed from one face of the manifold unit, a second set of said passageways formed from the opposite face of the manifold rom that of the first mentioned face, means providing communication between the reduced fuel and at least one set of said passageways means for sealing both sets of passageways, said second set of spiral passageways interposed and independent from the first set of passageways, said passageways each adapted to receive a fluid directed therethrough in an elongated path, and means for separate discharge of the fluids from the passageways.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,081,678 Rosenhlad May 25, 1937 2,248,222 Ensign July 8, 1941 2,272,341 Holzapfel Feb. 10, 1942 2,475,087 Ensign et al July 5, 1949 2,731,801 Reed Jan. 24, 1956

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